Recognising Realities

The POST, Sun, April,01, 2007.

Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema

For years some Pakistanis as well as the Kashmiris sources tried to convince the international community to take cognizance of the existing realities in the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) but unfortunately there were very few takers particularly in the western media. The western media, in particular, not only usually glossed over the plight of the people in IHK but also focused more on the activities of the freedom fighter whom they invariably termed as terrorists. Claiming to be impartial and rational players, most of the reports published rarely took account of the atrocities committed the Indian security forces in IHK. However this does not mean that attempt to portray the existing realities were not at all made. 

One has to give credit to some Indians who despite difficulties have tried to highlight the plight of the families and tried to communicate to the government regarding the undesired practices frequently experienced by the people of Kashmir. Similarly the human rights watch associations, both inside and outside India, have also been somewhat regularly engaged in highlighting the gross violations. Some of the specific cases were brought to light with all the possible evidence these organizations could gather. 

It is a too well known fact that thousands of Kashmiris are languishing in jails. Not only they are still denied the deserving legal aid but in many cases the police have categorically denied any knowledge about them. Fake cases and fake encounters appeared to be very common in the IHK. Most of the arrested were branded as infiltrators who entered the valley from the other side of the LOC. Complaints were either curtly dismissed or listed just as missing persons. 

Two articles published in a popular Indian magazine ‘Outlook’ (Oct.30, 2006 and 19 Feb. 2007) reveal adequately the undesired activities of the Indian police. The first article was written by the famous prize winner writer Arundhati Roy regarding the case of Afzal Guru. The writer convincingly highlighted the shortcomings of the defense provided to Afzal Guru. Not only she pointed out that Afzal’s lawyer did not visit his client and refrained from summoning defense witnesses but he barely cross examined the prosecution witnesses. In short the accused was never given a fair trial. However she did recognize the existence of judicial objectivity in India but termed it as a shy beast which has to be coaxed out of its lair by efforts of the top lawyers.

The second article entitled ‘Tales from the Crypt’ appeared in the ‘Outlook’ of 19^th Feb.2007. This article focused on the exhumed bodies of five men from Ganderbal who were killed and buried by special operations group (SOG). Thousands of Kashmiri people are still missing. Even since the freedom struggle intensified in 1989, innumerable Kashmiris are listed as missing. The families in Ganderbal were considered lucky as there was some sort investigation. Widespread protests had forced the police to exhume bodies buried inside the premises of Ganderbal police station. 

Many reports clearly reveal that the police/security forces have been picking up civilian at random, mostly innocent, and after torture were usually killed and buried. Invariably the excuse given for such custodial deaths was that they were the terrorists who crossed over across the LOC. Despite repeated protests and efforts of the concerned families, not much in terms of efforts or investigations were undertaken. 

The Ganderbal discoveries have become a rallying point for all those families whose loved ones are missing. For obvious reasons the State government has been downplaying the number of missing persons who ostensibly mysteriously disappeared from the police custody. While the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons put the figure of missing persons around 10,000 the official figures are around 1000. However there are other Kashmiri sources which put the figure much higher than what has been acknowledged by the Parents Association. 

Ever since the Kashmiri Freedom struggle intensified, many oppressive laws were introduced which not only gave vast powers to the law executing authorities but virtually extended impenetrable cover to the police and security forces. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (J&K) 1990 made virtually impossible to prosecute guilty officials. Similarly the much loathed Special Operations Group (SOG) enjoyed several layers of protective shield and immunity from investigation and prosecution. 

Theoretically SOGs were disbanded and were merged into the regular police soon after the advent of current coalition government in IHK in 2002. The new government initiated a policy to win the hearts and minds of the people in IHK. In this connection the government promised to put an immediate end to human rights violations and demonstrated their seriousness regarding the desired control of human rights abuses frequently employed by police and security forces by disbanding SOGs. 

The Ganderbal revelations ostensibly seem to be making dent to various layers of protective shield. Since the bodies of slain victim were exhumed in presence of some of the relatives, it was inevitable that the relatives along with sympathizers would call for the heads of involved officials. It has been reported that eight officers have been arrested for having planned the killings. Whether or not these accused would be awarded appropriate punishment for the crimes they committed remains to be seen. 

While both the State and Union governments have repeatedly stated zero tolerance regarding flagrant violations of human rights, yet one keeps hearing repeated incidents of human rights violation. It has been reported that many Kashmiris are not convinced by the government’s assurances and viewed statements expressing zero tolerance as more than hoax conveniently employed by the ruling regimes. Identification of few perpetrators appears, in the eyes of many in Kashmir, as no more than a whitewash. 

Perhaps one important aspect of recent Ganderbal revelation is that some important magazines in the west have also begun to notice of such happenings that have been hitherto ignored or underplayed either deliberately or inadvertently. This writer has rarely come across reports highlighting gross violation of human rights and exposure of the misdeeds of some of the security forces or the local police. It is possible that such reports may have been given some space occasionally but unfortunately I have missed them. 

Invariably the reports of human rights abuses and undesired violence in IHK were attributed to infiltrators that were often classified by many western magazines as terrorists. The exact picture of the Kashmiri freedom fighters was rarely given deserving coverage. The western media to most of us in the region appeared somewhat biased and less objective. The recent reports on Ganderbal incident only generate a glimmer of hope that some section of the western media are beginning to recognize the existing realities in IHK.

The writer works for Islamabad Policy research Institute.